Liu Quan knocked backwards seven or eight steps in a row before stopping. Before she could look at the injury on her left arm, she heard a familiar voice ringing in front of her.

"Are you alright?!"

Liu Quan gasped in pain, slowly moved his left arm, and felt that it should be just a flesh wound, so he raised his head and smiled at the man.

"I'm fine. Just a little flesh wound, and it will be fine soon...... Thank you for saving me, Mr. Shannan. ”

Shannan stood in front of her, his eyes turned to her bleeding left arm for a moment, and he clenched his teeth faintly, then turned around in front of her indifferently and raised the knife again.

“…… It's okay. If you are injured, step back and don't cause trouble to others. ”

Liu Quan was stunned for a moment, and before he could speak, the screams of a thousand cranes suddenly came from the other side of the hall.

"Father?!"

Shannan and Liu Quan seemed to be taken aback by this sudden change, and looked in that direction at the same time.

…… But I happened to see Yukimura Tsunado blocking in front of Chizuru, and the scene of being stabbed in the chest and falling backwards, and the earthwork that happened to be near them, almost slashed at an alarming speed, and neatly cut the body of the Rakshasa who attacked Chizuru in two.

"Hey, don't look anywhere else when you're fighting us!" he roared.

Shannan seemed to sigh slightly.

"Tsunado-kun...... I guess I can't survive. Still with his back to Willow Spring, he said softly, "But...... He actually saved Yukimura-kun......"

Liu Quan sighed, and he didn't know how to react for a while.

“…… Don't worry. Shannan actually spoke again. He said without looking back, his tone understated.

"Hijikata-kun probably went to the rescue because he happened to be closest to Yukimura-kun, just like you just came to help me. ”

Liu Quan opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

…… Are you comforting her?...... Even on the night before coming to Sendai, I had said such categorical and unequivocal words to her, but now, Mr. Yamanan...... Still didn't completely ignore her, did you?

She stared at Shannan's back, paused for a moment before squeezing out a question between her teeth.

"So...... Did I do Mr. Shannan a favor this time?"

“…… Huh?!" Shannan looked very surprised, and turned around almost immediately.

When their eyes met in mid-air, he seemed to understand something, and his tense face softened a lot, revealing a gentle smile.

"Ahh This is already the second time......"

His gaze seemed to drift away for a moment.

"Rely on your desperate maintenance to escape from a mortal situation in battle, and watch you risk your life to fight your opponent in order to defend me—" He looked at her gently, his gaze recast on her face very calm. "Strangely, it's still uncomfortable, but it's no longer something I can't tolerate. ”

He paused briefly.

“…… If this is your gentleness, then it is not unacceptable. His voice was much lower, and when he said it, it was like a whisper.

He didn't say anything more, but immediately turned around, set up his sword, and faced the rakshasas again.

…… After that, the battle was soon over.

The entire Rakshasa team was wiped out by the four of them, Hijikata, Shannan, Okita, and Heisuke—plus Liu Quan, who joined later and left earlier, most of the immediate combat power.

Ignoring the sea of blood and the tragic situation of dead corpses all over the ground, Shannan wiped the blade of his Tai Knife and put it into the sheath, his tone was as calm and gentle as ever.

"I still think it's a pity. This kind of quantity is very valuable. ”

He said in a rare joking tone.

"Ah~ I don't know when I got so much, it's really fun to cut it. Okita responded in a mischievous tone, then kicked away several rakshasa corpses and strode over to Chizuru, crouching down to check on her.

Shannan smiled, and the expression on his face gradually became stricter.

"The Shinsengumi have lost most of their troops...... Do you think the war will be won in the future?" he asked, narrowing his eyes, bluntly.

With a refreshing smile, Hijikata replied cheerfully, "No one will fight with the idea of admitting defeat from the beginning. ”

…… It's really a reckless statement. Even Heisuke's face showed a smile like a narrow smile.

"Because Mr. Hijikata is very competitive......"

As if to suppress the laughter rolling around in his throat and more propulsive words, Heisuke deliberately laughed out loud.

Hijikata's face tensed for a moment, and then suddenly eased again. With a somewhat helpless, yielding smile, he whispered, "Really...... Why has even Heisuke become the same as the head office now?"

Although the wound on his left arm was still aching, Liu Quan couldn't help but smile.

Hearing her suppressed laughter, Hijikata turned his gaze to her in displeasure for a moment.

“…… I've said long ago that your sword is really weird...... sooner or later, you'll suffer a loss...... Sure enough, that's what happened today—" He glared angrily at the sword that had been retracted into its scabbard by Liu Quan, as if if it had glared hard, it wouldn't have made such an unexpected mistake next time.

Liu Quan pursed his lips, not angry at his slightly stiff tone.

"But I don't need your long, heavy sword, lieutenant. ”

Now that Hijikata has taken over as the director of the Shinsengumi for a long time, I am afraid that Yanagizumi is the only one in the entire Shinsengumi who still refers to him by his old title—just as although Yamanan has been announced to have passed away for a long time, Yanagizumi has never admitted that Kotaro Ito, who has actually officially taken over the position of chief, is the head of the Shinsengumi.

Strangely, Hijikata never seemed to feel any dissatisfaction or distress in this way.

He frowned, his gaze drifting to Willow Spring's torn sleeves and blood-clotted arms.

"Your arm...... Is there anything wrong?" His brow furrowed so that he could catch the mosquitoes, as if his face was even more ugly because he thought of Shannan's sarcasm before the battle began, "Don't you think it's too hasty to let a woman who is not a Rakshasa break into the enemy's camp, and there are only four of you in total".

"Shouldn't you have come with you...... this task is still too hard for you......" He said as if he had hesitated for a moment, but walked over to Willow Spring, stood beside her, narrowed his eyes and turned his head slightly, examining the injured arm. However, he didn't directly reach out and grab her arm to hold it in place, so that he could see more clearly.

Yanagizumi smiled and sighed slowly for some reason in his heart, and empathetically raised his left arm and stopped in front of the dirt so that the new director of the Shinsengumi would not have to bow his head and bend down to see her injuries clearly.

"Fortunately, it didn't hurt deeply...... Hijikata looked at it for a while before he came to a conclusion in a deep voice.

“…… Of course, I feel like I can fight for another five hundred years!" In order to ease the somewhat tense air in the room, Liu Quan deliberately pretended to be very cheerful, and shouted exaggeratedly.

Okita and Heisuke laughed almost at the same time, and even Yamanan had a faint smile on his face - only Chizuru, who had just lost his father, only barely curled the corners of his lips - but it was enough. Hijikata's face changed, and the green tendons on his forehead faintly burst out.

"Really...... Don't even you learn from the head office!" he grumbled and grumbled, glaring back and forth at Okita, Heisuke, and Yanagizumi in exasperation, as if doing so would stare back the mischievous spirit of the three of them.

The laughter echoing in the hall hadn't completely stopped, and suddenly—

"Uhh......hh

Almost at the same time, both his and Shannan's expressions were distorted with pain. In the next instant, their eyes turned red again, and their hair turned snow-white!

The laughter in the hall came to an abrupt end.

Hijikata, Yanagizumi, Okita, and Chizuru all stared at Heisuke and Sannan, who had turned into Rakshasa again without warning, with expressions of extreme shock and disbelief.

"Sure enough...... It's the limit. Shannan whispered as if he understood something.

Liu Quan's face suddenly turned pale.

"Extreme ......?!, is it ......," Chizuru asked, stammering.

"We became Rakshasa too soon. Heisuke seemed to be barely suppressing the pain in his body, and forced out such an explanation.

They wield the power of the rakshasa more often than anyone else, and their lifespan continued to decrease as they continued to fight. Their bodies have been under a huge load.

…… But is it coming to an end here?! It's only been a few short years since they became Rakshasas......

Hijikata's expression also became grim, and a painful look appeared on his face.

That look was not painful because of physical pain, but because of the great damage and impact that the spirit and soul would face.

"Did you already know......" he muttered.

Shannan smiled and nodded.

"It's your own body...... I can always guess a little bit by feeling when I will use all my strength......"

Before the words fell, two pops were heard one after another.

Yamanan Heisuke's body had reached its limit, and it was difficult to even stand on his own, so he could only fall to the ground weakly one after another.